Pull Aparts

These are easy and incredible pull aparts. A party pleasing appetizer.  I was searching internet for a nice bread recipe when i came across pull aparts.  These pull aparts can be savory or sweet. I tried both in one pan. You can even make them with your kids. They will surely have fun.

Pull Aparts

Ingredients
1 cup All Purpose Flour/Maida
1/4th cup luke warm water
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp active dry yeast
Salt to Taste
1 tsp Sugar or Honey
Butter - for brushing
Milk - for brushing

For Stuffing
Coriander Chutney
Chocolate spread
or any other stuffing of your choice


Take Luke Warm water in a small bowl. Add Sugar (or Honey) and yeast. Mix well and allow the yeast to rise for around 5 minutes.

In another bowl sift All Purpose Flour. You may use Whole Wheat Flour or half all purpose and half whole wheat. Add salt, oil and the yeast mixture to the flour. Knead the mixture and prepare a soft dough. Place the dough covered in a warm place to rise. The dough will double in an hour.

While the dough is rising, prepare your stuffing. You can make any spicy chutney of your choice. I used Coriander Chutney and added Sriracha sauce and Parmesan Cheese to it. Visit my blog post on   chutneys for recipe.

Once the dough is double and your stuffing is ready, take out the dough and punch it down.  Divide the dough into small golf size balls. Roll the ball into a thin disk like roti (flatbread).
Brush it with Butter and then spread the stuffing on the rolled disk. Make sure your stuffing is thick and not watery.
Start rolling the disk from one side till the other end. With a knife make 1 inch apart cuts. In a greased baking tray, place the cut pinwheels with cut side down. Leave some space in between the two pinwheels. Repeat this for the rest of the dough.

Place the baking tray in a warm place for another 30-45 minutes, until the stuffed pinwheels have risen again. Once they have risen, they will tend to stick to each other. Preheat oven at around 350 F. Brush milk on the top and place them for baking. Bake them until the top gets a nice glaze or if tapped the bread sounds hollow.

Enjoy this delicious pull aparts.

Note : You can be innovative with the stuffing.  Try Hazelnut spread, chocolate, apple cinnamon and different varieties of chutneys. 

Baked Stuffed Vegetables

Baked Stuffed Vegetables - Bharwa Sabji

This is something i grew up eating. Just like here in US, parents have baking time with kids, back in my childhood days this was "Sunday fun with cooking". My mom used to get the stuffing ready and me and my sister would have fun, stuffing the veggies. This dish is simple, easy and healthy!! 

Prep. Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 40-45 mins

Ingredients
Veggies
Small Potatoes, Eggplants, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Lady Fingers, Parvar (snake Gourd), onions etc. Be imaginative with the vegetables. You can select vegetables of your choice or make with only one vegetable.

For Stuffing
1 Tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Asafoetida (hing)
1 Tbsp of crushed roasted peanuts
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Red chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp lemon juice / 1/2 tsp citric acid
1 cup Chickpea Flour
Salt to Taste

Wash all the vegetables and dry them with a clean towel.
Heat Oil in a Pan, add mustard seeds, when the seeds start crackling add Asafoetida and Chickpea flour. Saute the flour for around 4 to 5 mins until it starts releasing its fragrance.
Add Roasted Peanuts and all other spices. If you are using lemon juice or tamarind pulp,  add that at the end. Add all other spices, mix them well with the flour and then add the lemon juice.
Remove from Heat and allow the stuffing to cool.
Make slits in the vegetables, remove the seeds from peppers, tomatoes.
Fill in the stuffing and place them in a greased deep baking tray.
Sprinkle all the leftover stuffing.
Preheat Oven at 350F.
With a cooking spray, lightly spray oil on all the vegetables.
Cover the baking try with Aluminium Foil and keep them for baking.
After 20 minutes, flip the vegetables and keep them covered for baking again.
The vegetables would be ready in total between 40-45 minutes. 

Twisted Savory Buns

It has been continuously raining outside and me and my husband had this urge to eat something hot, tasty and yet healthy! Ta-da, I immediately thought of these Savory Buns! Simple to make, healthy to eat and satisfies the taste buds :)

Savory Buns

I added equal proportions of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour (maida), but to make it healthier, you can omit all purpose flour completely. Whole Wheat flour dough is sticker and needs little more kneading then the all purpose flour.

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour                3/4 cup
All purpose Flour         3/4 cup
Luke Warm Water       1/2 cup                
Instant Dry Yeast        1/2 tsp
Sugar                        1/2 tsp
Green Chilies             To Taste
Oil                             2 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds            1 Tbsp
Salt                           To Taste
Coriander Leaves        For Garnish
  

Method:

•  In a bowl, add warm water, yeast, sugar and salt and leave it for 10-15 minutes until frothy.
•  Add in 1/2 cup of All purpose flour and Whole wheat flour to the frothy mixture.
•  Mix the flours and water well(at this stage the dough would be sticky, its ok) and leave it covered in a warm place for 1 hour. (If its cold outside, just keep this dough in the oven with the light on)
•  After 1 hour, the dough should be doubled or fairly risen. At this stage, knock down the air, add the rest of the flour (1/4 cup of All Purpose and wheat flour), coarsely ground chilli paste and knead very well (knead for about 7-10 mins). 
•   Make equal sized small round balls from the dough, pop in 3 of these balls in each muffin cup and keep the dough covered in a warm place for about 50 minutes to 1 Hour.

Dough balls risen after an hour of sitting

• In the mean time pre-heat the oven to 200 C/390 F 
• Uncover the muffin tray, brush a little milk on the dough balls to get a good golden color on the buns and sprinkle sesame seeds and coriander leaves.
• Bake it for about 15-20 minutes or till you see a golden brown color on the buns!

Right out of the oven

• Serve warm with hot tea or coffee, or even with a mixture of Olive Oil and freshly crushed black pepper.

 

Tip: 

(1) The Buns should sound hollow when tapped. If they sound hollow, they are ready.

(2) Though you may use any oil, using Olive Oil gives the best result. 

Vegetable Medley

This Vegetable Medley or Handi recipe is perfect for weekends brunch. Its simple, easy and certainly delicious.

Vegetable Handi

Prep Time - 20 mins
Cooking Time - 30 mins

Ingredients
Vegetables
2 cup mixed vegetables (chopped Potatoes,  carrots, cauliflower florets, green pepper, Green Beans and Green Peas (frozen))
1/4th cup cooked soya chunks (optional)
2 Tbsp Oil
Salt to Taste
1 tsp Chat Masala
For Gravy
1 tsp Oil
1/4th tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4th tsp Asafoetida
1 small dried red chili
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp chopped green chilies

1 cup chopped Tomatoes
1 tsp Red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp Yogurt / sour cream

Do not get worried after seeing the ingredients. Its all easy now.
Microwave all the vegetables adding water separately  for around 2 minutes.
Drain the water from the vegetables.
Take 1 Tbsp Oil in a deep bottom Pan.
When the Oil is heated, shallow fry the vegetables one by one starting with vegetables that take more time like Potatoes and doing carrots at the end. Add another Tbsp of Oil if required. Shallow fry each vegetable until they are crisp (for around 4-5 minutes).
If you are using Soya Chunks, shallow fry them at last.
Place the fried vegetables on a tissue to absorb extra oil. Sprinkle salt and chat masala on them and mix well.
Now, we will start with the gravy. In the same pan, add 1 tsp of oil and mustard seeds. Allow the mustard seeds to crackle, add asafoetida, dried red chili, green chilies and ginger. Add all the spices.
Add finely chopped tomatoes. Cover the Pan and allow the tomatoes to cook until Oil starts separating. Stir in occasionally.
Once, the tomatoes are done, add yogurt. Mix well. Add salt.
Once fine gravy has been formed add the vegetables and mix well. Cover them and allow them to cook on low- medium heat for around 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables absorb the spices from the gravy.
Garnish with fresh Cilantro and raw mango slices.

Tips :
(1) For reducing the preparation time, you can use the frozen vegetable medley available in the stores. Just add Potatoes. You will save time in chopping and microwaving the vegetables.

(2) Microwave vegetables for 2 intervals around 1 and half minute each.